This is Free Trader Beowulf: A System History of Traveller by Shannon Appelcline

(Mongoose Publishing, 2025)

Reviewed by Alex Bardy

Back in the early 1980s there were few role-playing games (RPG) readily available, and I suspect most BSFA readers have at least heard of Dungeons & Dragons, and for many, Traveller is considered ‘the SF version’. Officially released in 1977, it’s fair to say Traveller was neither the first or last science fiction RPG, but it has proven to be the one with the most staying power. It currently boasts at least 6 or 7 different iterations, with a few variants left and right, including MegaTraveller and 2300AD—in my opinion, neither of these are considered particularly popular at time of writing.

This is the story of that RPG system and all of the authors that worked upon its development. This history documents the system’s many iterations and off-shoots, from the early days of those very distinctive ‘three black books’ to the current all-singing all-dancing large format full-colour editions (Traveller 5 and Mongoose Traveller 2e).

There are many reasons for the enduring popularity of the Traveller RPG but one of the key factors (which the author seems to support and propagate here) is that it was originally built upon a foundational history and background that was constantly progressing ‘in real time’. The concept of background settngs for RPGs is certainly nothing new nowadays, but back then the Traveller universe was unique and constantly evolving (and arguably still is), which thus allowed the system to stay fresh and up to date as new technological discoveries and modern marvels came to be. Indeed, the original design allowed ever more planets and systems to be added to the fictional universe with ‘tech levels’ varying considerably from ‘pre-caveman’ to ‘far future’, and in truth the original designer, Marc Miller, envisaged an RPG system that could quite literally take place anywhere and any when.

Traveller was especially distinguished by its character-generation system, drawing upon the designer’s early military background to put ‘starting characters’ through a ‘career’ before they could do any form of RPG adventuring. It also introduced the concept of skills—your character’s chosen career helped determine what they were good at, etc. but the longer you stayed in careers and got better at things, the more chance there was of picking up ‘a mishap’ (disadvantage). It was also one of the few character-generation systems that could see your character die before they even started (although this was dropped in later years). This not only helped to build a decent character profile before you began playing, it also helped to prevent the popularity of so-called ‘geriatric brigades’ (whereby all members of the adventure party are ‘levelled up’ through 60+ years of career building and were in their late 80s and 90s!)

The author previously wrote the rather excellent Designers & Dragons series—a history of RPG systems through the decades that’s well worth your time if you have an interest in these things—and tells the much deeper history of the Traveller RPG from its inception. It covers the early Army career of Marc Miller, follows the highs and lows of the design, production, development, and licences (of which there were many) of the system and costs thereof—as well as touching upon the overall development and history of RPGs in general. Moreover, it’s full to bursting with photos and images from some of the most memorable Traveller sourcebooks and references you can find, and is a fascinating and satisfying read all round, especially for somebody like me who devoured so much RPG material in those early years.

Review from BSFA Review 25 - Download your copy here.